The Vision for Clarkson Village Submitted to: City of Mississauga FPeerINAL REPORT Revi ew April 24, 2008 Prepared by: Canadian Urban Institute 555 Richmond St. W., Suite 402 PO Box 612 Toronto ON M5V 3B1 Canada 416‐365‐0816 416‐365‐0650 [email protected] www.canurb.com CM–OSSITY OF ISSISSAUGA FFICE TRATEGY TUDY i Mississauga Office Strategy Research Team Canadian Urban Institute Glenn R. Miller, Director (Education & Research), FCIP, RPP Brent Gilmour, M.Sc.Pl. Ita Waghray, M.U.P. Iain D. C. Myrans, B.A.(Hons.), B.U.R.Pl. Daryl J. W. Keleher, B.A. (Hons.), B.U.R.Pl. Real Estate Search Corporation Iain Dobson, Principal Harris Consulting Inc. Gordon Harris, MCIP, Principal Jonathan Tinney, M.A. Ian A. R. Graham Planning Consultant Ltd. Ian A. R. Graham, MCIP, RPP, AICP Beate Bowron Etcetera Beate Bowron, FCIP, RPP Hammersmith Communications Philippa Campsie, Principal David P. Amborski, MCIP, RPP The Mississauga Office Strategy Study has been prepared for the City of Mississauga ii CANADIAN URBAN INSTITUTE TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | The Mississauga Office Strategy Study ................................................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION | THE MISSISSAUGA OFFICE STRATEGY STUDY: MISSISSAUGA HAS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM THE OFFICE MARKETPLACE ......... 1 CHAPTER ONE | THE MARKET CONTEXT FOR OFFICE DEVELOPMENT IN THE GTA ......................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Mississauga is the dominant player in the 905 marketplace ........................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Led by Mississauga, 905 is now growing faster than 416 ................................................................................................................ 8 1.3 The GTA market today: implications for Mississauga .................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER TWO | MARKET FORECAST: EXPECTATIONS FOR GROWTH SHOULD ANTICIPATE CHANGING MARKET NEEDS .......................................................... 20 2.1 Mississauga’s share of employment and population growth will reflect the City’s new status as a built‐out community. .......... 20 2.2 Employment growth will be led by four key sectors ..................................................................................................................... 21 2.3 Forecasting regional office space demand .................................................................................................................................... 22 2.4 Forecasting office demand within the City of Mississauga ............................................................................................................ 24 2.5 Balancing sector‐based forecasts against recent performance ..................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER THREE | INDUSTRY INTERVIEWS: LANDLORDS, DEVELOPERS AND TENANTS LOOKING TO THE CITY FOR LEADERSHIP TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ... 31 3.1 High‐ratio surface parking sites and growing congestion concerns developers ............................................................................ 31 3.2 Market‐led development policies worked in the past but congestion and a dwindling supply of prime sites requires a fresh approach ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 3.3 Business functionality and access to a quality labour pool are top priorities for employers ........................................................ 36 3.4 Local businesses and international investors alike demand high quality work environments ...................................................... 39 CHAPTER FOUR | POLICY ANALYSIS: DEVELOPMENT OF AN OFFICE HIERARCHY PROVIDES A FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT ................ 40 4.1 Provincial & upper‐tier policy: the Growth Plan, PPS, and the Peel Regional Plan provide an opportunity to establish a firm link between land use goals and infrastructure............................................................................................................................. 40 4.2 Mississauga’s current official plan policies for office development send mixed messages and need to be updated ................... 41 4.3 Rationale for a re‐ordering of the Office Hierarchy ....................................................................................................................... 44 4.4 Transit oriented development (TOD) ............................................................................................................................................. 48 4.5 Opportunities to develop transit‐oriented development .............................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER FIVE | FINANCIAL REVIEW NEW FINANCIAL TOOLS ARE NECESSARY TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH RESIDENTIAL LAND CONSUMPTION, PARKING, TRANSIT AND DESIGN. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 51 5.1 Pro forma analysis: the key questions ........................................................................................................................................... 51 5.2 Strategies to complement revised policies .................................................................................................................................... 56 5.3 Results ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 61 5.4 Potential municipal revenues from future office development .................................................................................................... 64 5.5 Development costs related to future office development ............................................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER SIX | STRATEGIES AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................... 66 6.1 The proposed revised office designations are intended to enhance the City’s ability to direct office development to transit‐ supportive locations such as City Centre and the Hurontario corridor. ........................................................................................ 66 6.2 Policies and strategies designed to kick start office development in the City Centre. ................................................................. 70 6.3 The pedestrian environment in City Centre must be improved .................................................................................................... 72 6.4 Go green in City Centre. ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 6.5 Establish additional dedicated land for office: adopt a nodal development pattern on Hurontario to create attractive office sites that can be served by higher‐order transit ............................................................................................................................ 74 6.6 Linking policies and strategies to a revised urban structure ......................................................................................................... 76 6.7 Support the continued success of the City’s key employment districts ........................................................................................ 79 6.8 Meadowvale and Airport Corporate Centre are attracting the majority of Mississauga’s new office development but currently have low transit modal share and limited amounts of prime vacant land. .................................................................... 80 6.9 Sheridan Park developed as a science and technology park and maintains a unique campus‐like environment, but is the City’s only employment district with visibility from the Queen Elizabeth Way. ............................................................................ 81 6.10 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 CLOSING COMMENTS | THE MISSISSAUGA OFFICE STRATEGY STUDY: ................................................................................................................... 82 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 83 CITY OF MISSISSAUGA – OFFICE STRATEGY STUDY iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | The Mississauga Office Strategy Study MISSISSAUGA DOMINATES THE GTA OFFICE MARKET, BUT ACTION IS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN ITS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Over the past 25 years, the City of Mississauga has become the dominant player in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) office market outside Toronto, having added an average of 1 million sq. ft. (92,900m2) of office space a year – despite two severe recessions and economic restructuring following